Discovered Talent
by Winter's Light
Summary: [Companion Story to Decisions on an Animal] Kyo discovers something new about Yuki that he never would have expected. That's how it all started. And then it leads to something more...not really... [Slight Yukiru. No pairings.] COMPLETED
1. Part 1

Author's Note: More and more one-shot stories are overflowing my mind. Sorry, I have writer's block on most of my stories so it won't be a while until I can actually start new chapters. Here's the next one-shot story. This one is about Kyo finding out about Yuki's secret talent. I don't know when Tohru's birthday is, but I know that she is a Taurus and that I'm just going to guess that her birthday is April 30th…

Oh yeah. And the reason why I didn't update last Friday was because I was at my high school football game. I'm in band (I think I told you before) and therefore I must play. In my opinion, I don't really like football and I think it's kind of weird. Anyways, here's the next fic!

Discovered Talent

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, if I did, they wouldn't be cursed; maybe I probably wouldn't even have thought of it!

Part 1:

_April 12th_

Walking out the door, he almost regretted even deciding this. The warm breeze immediately met his face as soon as he got out the door. "I shouldn't have even asked him," he muttered under his breath. "What was that?" the other teen asked testily. The other teen was halfway out the door and he was already glaring at him.

"Nothing, let's just get this over with," the first teen said. He had slivery-gray hair and gray eyes, while the other teen had red hair and crimson eyes. Almost the total opposite. The slivery-gray haired teen was cool, calm, and collected while the other teen was hot-headed, and would get flustered easily.

The red haired teen only grunted and followed his cousin. They walked to the town in total silenced, not even glaring at each other once in a while—not even a 'stupid cat or damn rat'. If anyone who didn't know who they were, they would just shrug and think that they were two friends who were in a middle of an argument. If anyone from their school came and saw, they would just come over and say hi and ask what they were doing. But if anyone who knew the two teens very well, like say, family, saw them right now, they'd think that one or the other would be very sick or they weren't in their right minds.

The red haired teen looked to his right as they kept walking. He was in deep thought and thinking. Kyo Sohma nearly ran into a tree while doing this. "Watch where you're going, stupid cat," his cousin, Yuki Sohma said coolly without a hitch and only kept walking. The red haired teen only grunted a 'damn rat' and they both kept walking in silence.

In his head, what he thought of his cousin was that they hated each other. No matter how many times Tohru had told him and his cousin not to fight, they didn't give it another thought, but to continue fighting. They hated each other. That was that. It didn't make a difference if one of them didn't hate the other. They hated each other and that was done. He narrowed his eyes and kept his hands in his sweater pocket. Even though it was spring, he still wore a sweater, but the other teen was in his usual Chinese shirt and black pants, while he wore a blue sweater, black shirt and cargo pants.

Kyo didn't even know his enemy. He only knew that his enemy liked to garden and that was it. He frowned at his lack of knowledge of his enemy. He kept walking and would have walked into another tree if his cousin hadn't spoken.

"We're here," the slivery-gray haired teen said, pointing in direction of the town. Kyo grunted in acknowledgement and both kept walking further into the town. Finally, they got to the square and that was where they started to speak again. "We'll meet here in two hours. Is that enough time to look for something for Honda-san?" the cursed mouse asked. The cursed cat only nodded and started to walk off somewhere. Yuki frowned and he, too, turned around to walk in his own direction.

(--?--)

Once inside the town, Yuki Sohma started to wander around for stores. Wandering around and around the town square, he had unknowingly gathered attention for himself. His attention was caught by a certain figurine store and he walked in.

(--?--)

The cursed cat walked off to who-knows-where—not even he knew himself. He just picked a random direction and started to walk to wherever his feet would take him. A store caught his eyes and he walked inside.

He looked behind the shelves and walked around. Noting that it was a pretty nice place to do homework and stuff, he decided that he would come here if he needed some time to himself. While looking at the shelves, a book caught his eye.

A Loved One Cursed, he read silently to himself. He mused on the title before finding a sit and sitting down to start to read it. There was plenty of time, he told himself.

(--?--)

Looking at all the cute figurines, he couldn't decide what to get her. And then he noticed that the store had _those_ figurines and went over to take a look. Yuki Sohma bent down and looked closely at the zodiac figurines. He inspected them closely to make sure that they didn't have any scratches or dents on them before buying them.

He asked the store owner for the package and purchased it. He carefully placed them into a paper bag with a plastic bag under it. Then, he made his way towards the square where he and his cousin would meet. Looking up at the clock tower, he noticed that he had plenty of time, so he went walking around the square.

After the fifth time around, he decided to go back to the store to make another purchase. He had forgotten something.

(--?--)

Another chapter finished and he decided to buy it. He went up to the register and paid for the book and left.

(--?--)

Yuki Sohma went back in and asked the clerk for another figurine. "Oh, back again?" the man behind the counter asked. The slivery-gray haired boy nodded and said, "Yeah, I forgot something," The man behind the counter had a dark brown hair, hazel eyes—that didn't seem to fit him—and was wearing the usual uniform. A red shirt and black pants. "What is it? Are those for a girl?" he asked and winked. Yuki took a step back and shook his head. He sighed and answered, "It's a long story, but she's a really good friend of mine and her birthday is coming up."

"Ah, I see. Does she like the zodiac that much?" the clerk asked, Yuki nodded and smiled. The clerk handed the bag to him and said, "Here you go, hope she enjoys it!" Yuki nodded again, and smiled, "I think she will," and he left.

(--?--)

"Argh, damn stupid rat…" he muttered profusely under his breath as he made his way towards another shop. He had just finished looking at one of those 'Japanese girl's' shops, decided to take a break and look around in the karate store.

Once inside, he looked around and wished he had eight more eyes to see everything. He looked around at all the different items that the store had sold and the different colors. He looked first at the clothing wear for martial artists and then to the different colored belts before making his way to the back of the store.

"Hey dude. Anything I can help you with?" a familiar female's voice asked. Kyo Sohma turned around to find himself face-to-face with the blonde Yankee.

Arisa Uotani.

She was wearing the store uniform which consists of a white blouse and a tan skirt for females…although she was the only female in the store.

"Yankee?" he asked as his eyes widened with surprise. "Orange-top?" the ex-yankee asked, also in surprised.

(--?--)

Walking out the door, he felt satisfied with himself and hoped that the brunette will like her present. He walked around the square some more, accidentally grabbing attention from both male and female shoppers. He ignored them all. He kept walking until a store caught his eye and decided to go inside.

The store was a kind of gardening store and he wandered inside—not caring about the attention he got. He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked behind him to see…

Saki Hanajima.

Whoa. What's she doing here? Off all places?

(--?--)

"What are you doing?" both teens chorused out loud. This caught the attention of all the other people in the store. "Hey! I asked you first, Yankee, so what are you doing here!" the orange haired male shouted. "Okay, okay, Orange-top. Look, I work here. What do you think? And now, what are you doing here?" the blonde female asked.

"I-I was just going, see 'ya in school Yankee," the orange haired male answered and he tried to leave the shop in a hurry. "Hey-hey! What's the rush for? You gotta meet someone for a date?" the Yankee teased. "WHAT?" the male stopped in a mid-step and spun around to face the Yankee. "FOR YOUR IMFORMATION, I'M HERE BECAUSE OF TOHRU'S BI—" he started, then realized what he almost said, stopped and covered his mouth.

The other people in the store were still watching. Arisa noticed this and turned to them and said, "It's alright people! He's just a classmate! Go back to shopping now!" She turned back to him and said, "Oh, I see. Tohru's birthday, eh? So, are we going to throw her a surprise birthday party or what? Take her out to a fancy restaurant? Or take her on a vacation?"

"Actually, we were thinking of maybe taking her a on a vacation. All expenses paid. Well, that's what that know-it-all Prince said…" Kyo started with a snort and Arisa nodded in approval. "The Prince always as the best ideas, but what are you still doing here?" Arisa continued. "Just looking around, what? Is that a problem?"

"No, no! I was just wondering. What is it? Do you take martial arts lessons or something?" the blonde Yankee asked, cocking her head. Kyo nodded and said, "Yeah, well...I used to live with my Shishou. He would teach me everything, and I would train really hard. Then he went away for a while, so I left the dojo to fight that damn Yuki. Then…" he trailed off, remembering how Tohru learned of the curse.

"Then…Tohru interfered and all, but after she and Shigure were out of the way, that damn Yuki and I would fight. We hate each other, I think you know that…but I would always lose…No matter how hard I train, I would lose. But I love martial arts. I train every morning, while that damn Yuki would still sleep in, but he would still beat me…" he continued.

_/The cat was made so that it would **never** beat the rat. **Never**/_

When the boy finished, Arisa looked at him strangely and said, "Wow, I'd like to see that, anyways, don't you have to get going?" Kyo shook his head and said, "No, not really. I have plenty of time. Maybe I'll just wander around the square…" he left without saying another thing.

Arisa Uotani stared off as the orange haired teen walked away. She shrugged and went back to work.

(--?--)

"A-ah! Hello, Hanajima-san! What brings you here?" the slivery-gray haired teen asked, slightly startled to see a classmate. "I…was just buying something…for Tohru…" the gothic female answered. Yuki smiled, cocked his head and said, "Really? What did you get her?"

"I got her…a sunflower…" the Goth answered, holding up a pot of dirt and one huge sunflower in the middle. "Ah, that suits Honda-san very well!" the Prince said in reply and the Goth nodded in agreement. "Exactly…I thought that she might like it…but…" Saki turned to face the sliver-gray haired teen and asked, "Why are you here?"

"Eh?" the Prince asked in reply, and then, "Oh! I…was just looking around. I like gardening…" he ended with a slightly red face. "Ah…I see," the black haired said and then there was an awkward silence between them.

Breaking the silence, the Gothic girl simply said, "A rose…" and turned to leave the store, leaving behind a very confused Prince. He stood there, in a daze, wondering what she meant, and glanced at his watch. He still had a couple of minutes left. He left the store and went to another.

(--?--)

Walking around, the orange haired teen strolled into a jewelry story to browse. A certain piece caught his eye and he went over to look at it. The piece was a bracelet. It was made of sliver and there were many charms that you could choose to go on it for a small price. He figured he could pay for it and decided to buy it.

Stepping towards the register, he took out his wallet and rang the bell on the counter. A woman appeared behind the counter almost instantly. "Yes?" the woman asked, blinking her eye lashes prettily. Kyo Sohma inspected her and saw that she was wearing a name tag that said, "Hello! My name is Yumi! How may I help you?" and that she was wearing a maroon skirt, black shirt and a maroon shirt jacket.

"Uh…I'd like to buy that bracelet, plus those five charms," the orange haired teen said, pointing towards the sliver bracelet. "Ah, okay…" the woman named Yumi said, took out a key, put it in the keyhole, unlocked it, and pulled out the bracelet. She also took out five charms, and started to type numbers into the machine. After paying for it, Kyo walked out the door, feeling satisfied with himself and walked to where he would meet his cousin.

(--?--)

Swiftly and quietly, Yuki Sohma gently glided his fingers across the keys, feeling the smooth surface against his skin. He let out a sigh before finally deciding to sit down on the bench next to the instrument. Moving himself into the right position, he gracefully let his hand fall onto the keys and then pressing them.

The piano made a beautiful, yet sad and almost heartbreaking music. He truly played his soul out. _Why do I have to hate that stupid cat? Why do I have to listen to some random person in our family, just because someone said so? Why do cats have to hate rats? Am I a rat? _He played while thinking hard and it appeared so, because he didn't notice anyone watching him.

_Everyone hates the dirty, lying, stinking rat!_ Those scornful words still haunted him. Even if Haru stopped hating him; it still pained him to listen to those words in his head. _I hate you! I wish you never existed! Everything would have been better if they lying rat never existed!_ Even Kyo's words pained him. As much as he hated to admit…he was weak…and he only hated Akito.

His train of thoughts was interrupted by the music store owner who had started to clap his hands. Yuki jumped up with a start, realizing that he in a store, not at home. "Eh?" he let out in surprise. "That was very good; you must have taken a lot of lessons, have you not?" The man said. He was a tall, thin man, with a white goatee, and long white hair, and was wearing a black suit.

"Actually, I only took lessons when I was younger…I stopped after a while…" he said smiling on the outside, but held a sorrowful smile on the inside. "Really? I'm amazed…well, come back anytime, young man," the man said politely and Yuki nodded, smiled and left.

Unknown to Yuki, the man turned around and gave a thumbs-up to a camera in the corner of a room. He took off his goatee in the process.

(--?--)

What was that heartbreaking music? It just nearly broke his heart…it was so sad…

Kyo Sohma opened his eyes and looked around him. He was seated on a bench near the square, waiting for his cousin to come so they could go home. He looked into the window of a music store and saw that his cousin was playing the music. He narrowed his eyes…sadly and looked away. He then closed his eyes again and replayed what happened a couple months ago.

(Flashback)

"Hello, Yuki-kun!" the brunette greeted when the cursed spirit of the mouse walked into the house. The mouse, in return, greeted her and smiled. Kyo was standing near the stairs, but he could see what was happening. He could tell that Yuki's smile was strained and that he was thinking. He needed to test out his theory somehow…

When he saw that Yuki walked past by the cursed spirit of the dog without saying anything, he moved in to taunt him. "Hey you damn rat! Let's fight! C'mon! Are you a sissy!" he had said, but Yuki only walked right past by him, eyes glazed over as if in a trance. He was obviously thinking hard.

That night, Kyo couldn't sleep, so he walked down the stairs to make himself some hot chocolate and to get warm. It was—after all—almost winter. So he walked down the stairs, but he found the rat, sitting on the couch…watching T.V. having himself some hot chocolate also. When the rat noticed Kyo, he only turned to look at the cursed spirit of the cat and muttered something under his breath.

Kyo shrugged and went into the kitchen to make his hot chocolate. When he came back into the living room, he found the rat still there, watching T.V. and looked at the screen to see what he was watching. Kyo found it funny what Yuki was watching and decided to make a comment. "Nice show?" he asked and Yuki nodded absentmindedly, making Kyo laugh.

"What's so funny?" the slivery-gray haired teen asked, half-awake. Kyo only pointed at the screen and Yuki turned to look—finding the screen blank. (I give credit to um…I forgot what story it was…but she got this idea…only it was Kyo and Shigure…I'm only borrowing this.) "Oh…" was all he said, and he stood up to get the remote.

They flipped through the channels before finally settling on a news channel. They stayed like that for about an hour until Yuki fell asleep on the couch. Kyo only grunted and let him sleep…listening to Yuki's subconscious pleading…from his childhood.

"No…Akito…let me out…" were the only words that Kyo could decipher from Yuki's ranting. _'Let me out'?_ was Kyo's first thought when he first heard that. He listened some more, but that was it. That was certainly an interesting night…

(End Flashback)

Kyo opened his eyes and found his cousin standing over him with a scowl on his face. "Let's go stupid cat. Before Honda-san starts to worry about us," and they left. Kyo made a new discovery…the mouse plays the piano…weird, huh? It reminded him of a children's book about a mouse that learned to play the piano…

(End ofPart 1)

Author's Note: This is part 1 of 2 parts…only two chapters. Oh well…anyways, I'll type the next chapter as soon as I can! Please read and review! (I think this is my longest chapter yet…7 pages…)


	2. Part 2

Author's Note: Okay, the second part will take place on Tohru's birthday. This is where it will be slightly Yukiru. I hope you'll enjoy it! Please read and review! 

Onward with the story, then!

Discovered Talent

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Fruits Basket. It belongs to the wonderful and talented Natsuki Takaya… (Sighs)

_April 30th – during the day _

Leaning over the windowsill, Tohru Honda looked out the huge window of the boat. Breathing in the salty seawater, she smiled and turned around to thank her 'family'. "Thank you so much, Yuki-kun, Kyo-kun, Shigure-san!" she said gratefully. She smiled again and continued, "You guys mean so much to me!" her eyes started to tear up.

"Don't cry, Honda-san," the silvery gray haired teen said as he walked over to her, wiping a tear off her cheek, "You deserve this. It is your birthday after all and besides, you don't want to cry on your birthday." He smiled and cocked his head. Understanding, the brunette nodded and smiled through her tears.

"Jeez, you don't have to cry about everything," the red head said, scowling. He crossed his arms and leaned against a wall next to a small square table and four chairs. Two figures walked into the room and came into view.

"Oh, hello Uotani-san, Hanajima-san. I'm glad you could make it," the slivery gray haired teen said as he smiled. "Uo-chan! Hana-chan!" the brunette greeted with an excited shout, "What are you two doing here!" The taller of the two figure spoke first. "You mean no one told you that we were coming? Some lousy hosts they are…," she said with a snort.

The two females walked over to the birthday girl to give her a group hug, leaving the two males watching.

The red head snorted, walked over towards a chair, sat down and leaned against its smooth surface. "Why, thank you," he replied sarcastically and a fake smile. "And you're such kind guests, too."

"You're welcome," the blonde yankee said, as she removed herself from their group hug. "It really **is** no problem." She smirked at him. He only scowled and ignored her, turning to look another direction.

And all the mean while, Tohru was looking between the two hot-headed teens, as if they'd erupt into fighting again. She, too, released herself from the group hug and went over to the two teens. "Please…" she started, "don't fight." Her tear-filled eyes were enough to make the two stop insulting each other.

"Awww… Tohru, don't worry… I won't hurt a single hair on Kyon-Kyon's head!" the yankee tried to comfort the brunette.

And the red head's only thought was, _as if… _He growled to himself before getting out of the chair in which he was sitting in and turned to Tohru, "Oi," he said, "I'm going to go to the deck for a bit," he said in the same rough mannered tone.

Yuki only tilted his head and frowned while the girl in which the red head had spoken to smiled and nodded.

"Alright Kyo-kun!" she said, smiling. "Ah!" she said suddenly, clapping her hands together and her smile broaden as if she had had the greatest idea ever. "Let's all go out on the deck! We could get some fresh air too!"

Yuki smiled at her and nodded. "Sure Honda-san. It'll be fun, maybe we'll see some animals…" he added as Tohru began to head towards the open door. He followed Tohru and Arisa and Saki followed him.

Arisa yawned a bit. "Ah, I can't understand how Carrot-Top or Tohru wakes up so early!" she said as she stretched her arms a bit.

"Arisa…" Saki said faintly, "You almost hit my head with your hand…"

"Ah! Sorry 'bout that Hana," the Yankee said as she lowered her arms. They reached the deck and soon found Tohru leaning over the siding.

"Uwah! The water is such a pretty color!" she said, amazed by the gentle ripples washing along on the surface. "Look at it!" she said once again, staring at the beautiful hues of blue, green and clear.

Yuki stood next to her and leaned over a bit to the siding. He looked down and smiled. Leave it to Tohru to see something beautiful in such a simple thing. His thoughts, however, were interrupted by a very unwanted person.

"AH! Precious love these days! I remember when I was younger, I'd get so many love letters! It seemed almost just like yesterday that I was the one getting love letters crowding in my locker instead of my beautiful little brother!" the booming voice nearly shouted as the figure appeared.

"What are you doing here?" chorused Yuki and Kyo as they turned around to meet Ayame, Hatori and Shigure. Both glared at each other before proceeding to glare at Ayame.

"I drove them here," Hatori spoke up without even a hint of amusement.

Ayame only grinned and patted Hatori on the back, "That's right Ha'ri!" he gleamed, "He drove us here because he knew Shigure and I couldn't drive very well and we wanted to come! Of course, the journey itself was very beautiful! We saw many trees and roads, and more trees! Ah… If only you could have come! Then I would have shown you the beautiful scene!" he went on.

"Don't you ever shout up?" asked the bewildered Yankee as she watched the older man blabber. And while she said, that Ayame wasn't even listening to her. He was listening to Shigure's complaints. ("What do you mean I can't drive? I can drive perfectly well thank you very much!")

"Nisan…" Yuki muttered, head bowing and fists clenched, "Why don't you ever shout up!" he yelled suddenly as a vein popped on his head.

Ayame turned his direction to his little brother, "Ah! Yuki!" he went all melodramatic, and bent on one knee, "Forever shall we stay together my little brother! On the morning that we saw that sunrise together, we both vowed to always be together no matter what!"

"WHAT VOW!"

Shigure went onto laughing his head off, Hatori's mouth only curved up a bit, and Arisa was, too, laughing her head off. Tohru only sweat dropped, while Kyo completely ignored his enemy and his brother, and Saki disappeared. She had found a snack bar, went onto picking each food and eating it.

As the two brothers continued to argue and yell about, Arisa inched over to Tohru, lowered her head a bit and whispered, "Do they always get like this?" She grinned at Tohru who smiled back.

Tohru laughed for a bit before replying. "Yes!" she replied cheerfully, "Ahaha! They do! Just like what brothers do…" She continued to watch the two brothers argue as Saki reappeared with a pair of chopsticks in hand and a bowl of rice in the other.

"My, my, what are they doing?" she asked in a deadpan voice. She carefully and skillfully picked up a piece of grilled meat with her thin chopsticks and placed it delicately in her mouth.

"Ah! Hana-chan!" Tohru exclaimed as she jumped several feet towards the sky after hearing Saki's voice. "What are you doing?" she asked after she had settled down quite a bit.

"I was on my way to the restroom when I found a snack bar. Feeling a bit hungry, I just took some food and made my way back," she said plainly including the details of how she felt. She picked up another piece and ate it.

"Ah! So, did you find the restroom, Hana-chan?" Tohru replied, tilting her head a bit. Saki only shook her head. "No… but I did find many snacks…" She continued to eat. Those who were listening (Arisa, Kyo and Tohru) sweat dropped quite a bit.

"So how is your birthday so far Tohru-kun?" asked the Goth snacker as she stuck another piece of meat in her mouth, "Hopefully it's fun so far…"

Tohru nodded frantically. "YES! I'm having so much fun! Thank you so much!" she exclaimed excitedly as she waved her two fists around.

"Honda-san?" asked a voice.

Tohru turned, lowering her fists, to look at Yuki. "AH! Yuki-kun! Are you done arguing with your brother?" she asked quite cheerfully.

Yuki only sweat dropped and nodded. "Haha…" he laughed, "Yeah…" his eyes seemed to be away for a while before he snapped back into reality. "Ah, happy birthday," he added.

Kyo seemed to have heard and also said, in a gruff mannered way, "Happy birthday…"

Tohru smiled and her cheeks tinged pink. "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed. She then made a move to hug the both of them but remembered the curse and thought the better of it.

Arisa raised an eyebrow and Saki stopped eating at this peculiar motion. Both glanced at each but said nothing of it.

"Come now Tohru! You simply MUST try this beautiful dress that I, the magnificent Ayame, have created!" the bouncy man announced as he _danced_ his way towards the birthday girl.

He grabbed her hand and dragged her back inside the boat. In there, he quickly and at an inhuman speed, set up a dressing area for him to put on Tohru. Before Kyo and Yuki could react at that.

Cries of protest soon began to ring out as clothes were tossed onto the ground. Both Kyo and Yuki doing the protesting of course. They wanted to push Ayame out and let Tohru do it herself, but that would mean seeing her… Gulp…

Soon the tossing was done and now the fitting was in process. Both Kyo and Yuki – who were standing outside the dressing area – waited patiently. They each heard Tohru's soft voice saying that she was so happy.

Of course we couldn't forget Arisa and Saki now could we?

They were furious that their friend was just snatched away just like that. Now they were marching – er – _pacing _in front of the dressing area each with an aura of – okay… let's just say they wanted to kill Ayame.

"TA-DAAAA!" Ayame shouted as the flimsy board separating the dresser and dresse from the angry mob of people fell to the ground. He waved his arms around like a manic and directed them towards the girl.

Tohru was beautiful. For an amazingly annoying person, Ayame had quickly put eye shadow, mascara and a bit of lip gloss on her face AND in fact managed to dress her in a beautiful long pink Chinese-style dress. Her hair was already tied neatly into two buns on each side of her head when in fact, they had been let down earlier.

Both Kyo and Yuki were left speechless.

Arisa and Saki walked over to Tohru now. Arisa grinning like she was at her daughter's wedding while Saki merely smiled. Both their "killing" auras were gone now.

"Wow, look at you Tohru! You look beautiful!" Arisa was the first one to speak, "Awesome!" She stuck a thumbs-up sign and hugged the timid girl. "Betcha you can hit it off with one of the guys tonight!" she winked at Tohru.

Tohru turned beet red and shook her head, bangs waving about, "No, no, no! I couldn't! I mean…!" she tried to stutter out, "T-Thank you…" she said referring to the compliment.

"Tohru-kun…" Saki started as she walked closer to the timid girl, "I'm so happy for you. May the best wishes go to you…" she finally said as she hugged Tohru with tears streaming down her eyes.

"H-Hana-chan! I'm not getting married!" Tohru protested as looked around for help. She that nowhere 'cause both Kyo and Yuki were slack-jawed and downright speechless.

Ayame wasn't going to help either. He was too busy talking to himself.

Tohru was glad to see Hatori and Shigure when they walked into the inside of the boat. One look told both men all they wanted to know. Shigure burst out laughing while Hatori walked over to her and helped get the other two teenage girls off Tohru.

Shigure wiped a tear from his eye. "T-That was hilarious!" he laughed as he looked over to Kyo and Yuki's expressions. Now, both of them were standing back-to-back, crossed their arms across their chests and glaring at Ayame.

"T-Those expressions!" Shigure said once again and fell over from the laughter.

"Shut up. It wasn't that funny," Yuki replied as he walked away from the cursed-cat now. Of course, he couldn't tell Shigure that he was day-dreaming… He looked away.

Tohru stared at Yuki and only looked hurt. She turn her gaze to the ground and remembered what Ayame had said earlier before Yuki, Kyo, Arisa and Saki had interfered.

"_La-la-laaa!" Ayame sang as he began digging through his duffel bag looking around for something. Tohru watched him – not knowing what to do. _

"_Um… Should… I… undress?" she asked uncertainly as her head stuck out from behind the flimsy paper "door". _

_Ayame turned his attention towards Tohru. "Of course!" he tossed her a pink dress, "Put this on and we'll work on the make-up!" _

_Tohru nodded and quickly did so. As soon as that was done, she brushed her hair thoroughly and sat down on the floor. Ayame kneeled while doing her hair._

"_You… Tohru-kun… Who do you like?" he asked suddenly._

_Tohru jumped a bit. "Eh? W-What do you mean?" she quickly asked, turning her head a bit._

"_Don't you like Kyonkichi?" he asked again while taking a hair band and tying it on one of the buns of her hair._

_She didn't reply at first. Then, "He has Kagura…"_

"_I'm guessing that means you like my little brother?" _

_She didn't have to reply this time. She knew that she liked him. _

"_But I don't think he likes me…" she suddenly answered._

"_Eh? How can he not love such a sweet loving girl like you?"_

"_I…don't… know…" she replied sullenly. _

"_Exactly. Give him a chance. I'm sure that he likes you. Try asking him to say your name…" Ayame finished as he just ended tying on the last hair band on the second bun. "There! Finished with the hair! Now it's for the face!"_

"_F-Face?" Tohru asked nervously._

"_Yep! We need to bring out your natural elegance! Now… Move your chin up!"_

_Ayame brought a brush and quickly and skillfully covered her face. _

"_What if he doesn't like me?"_

"_I'm sure he will. Now down! That's right! There you go!" as Yuki, Kyo, Saki and Arisa came in followed by a few noises that Ayame certainly didn't want to know. _

Tohru turned her gaze to the ground. Ayame had said that Yuki would be in rat-form by now because he had hugged her but… She looked up at Yuki who was trying to look anywhere but there, but… He didn't even want to look at her.

Tohru stared at the ground once again as Saki came up to her.

"What's wrong Tohru-kun?" she asked faintly as she tilted her head. Strands of pitch black hair wove from the braid and came loose as she did so.

Tohru looked up at her friend. "Ah! I'm alright Hana-chan!" she reassured. She smiled just for good measure. Was she being selfish that…she wanted someone to love her? Was she that selfish? Or did she just want to know the truth?

"Tohru-kun…" Saki suddenly spoke, "What do you think of the Sohma Prince?" she asked as Yuki and Kyo had just gotten into an argument while Arisa cheered them on. Ayame was about ready to be pounded on top of.

Actually, Yuki and Kyo were arguing about who would pound Ayame first.

"E-Eh!" Tohru exclaimed as her eyes widened. "W-What do you mean?" she managed to stutter out.

"I'm just asking…" she replied in the same dead-pan voice.

Tohru turned her gaze to whom they were talking about. "I…really…don't know yet…"

"Tohru-kun…" Saki started as she stared at the sad riceball, "You are like a sunflower… Always so sunny and happy… You share your joy with everyone around you, like brightening the room. And… if Sohma-kun was a flower…what do you think he'd be?"

Tohru gave a thought to it. Fingering her chin, they stood in silence for a while before Tohru got the idea. "A rose…" she finally said, "Beautiful and he attracts other people – the flowers – but if you get too close, you might get hurt by a thorn… But if you avoid the thorns you'll find the real beauty inside of him…" she trailed off.

Saki smiled at her friend. "You're right…" she agreed. She was glad that even Tohru had gotten it right… Pleased really… "And I guess that's how you think of him…" she added almost silently so that Tohru didn't hear.

"OI! Tohru!" Arisa suddenly yelled as she waved an arm. "I heard that dinner's ready!"

Tohru looked surprised for a moment before running after Yuki, Kyo and Arisa. She looked back, "Hana-chan! If you don't hurry, you'll miss out on the food!" she giggled, glad that Saki had helped her get things off her chest.

"I'm coming…" Saki replied as she quickly followed.

--

Dinner went along quickly, as did cake. Tohru had been so surprised when she saw the cake. She hadn't really expected it but the cake really was beautiful. Kyo had helped Kagura baking it and decorating. Tohru was even more surprised that Kyo had put up with Kagura while baking. Actually, she heard that the two were getting closer as cousins.

The cake itself had the many zodiac animals decorated around the cake in different color frosting, but Kyo had insisted that they add a riceball while Kagura pleaded that they include the cat in. The background frosting was pure white and "Happy Birthday Tohru!" was written in pink icing. Pink and purple flowers were dancing around the border of the round cake.

Tohru actually almost refused to have a piece since it was so beautiful, but Kyo made her eat it. Yuki only watched the two with a smile.

When present time came… Well… Let's see…

It was Shigure who insisted that everyone gather around Tohru while she opened her presents. She was in a frenzy because everyone had gotten her a present and she almost cried out of happiness.

Tohru slowly took a small pink bag from the pile and looked at the tag. "Kyo-kun!" she said, "I got yours first!"

Kyo only grumbled along the lines of "it was dumb" or something and looked away.

Tohru proceed to open the present. First she took out the tissues and looked inside. She reached in and pulled out the present. Eyes shining with pleasure, she stared at Kyo and thanked him.

It was the zodiac bracelet. Well, only two of the zodiac anyways. One charm was an orange cat, another had a gray mouse, the other two were a man-eating flower and a fish while the last one was in the middle – a riceball.

Tohru gasped and tears came welling out. "T-Thank you so much Kyo-kun!" she exclaimed gratefully as she tried to hug the flustered cat. Kyo only moved away from her almost finished hug. Thankfully, Tohru remembered.

"It… It was nothing…" Kyo muttered, side-glancing at the damn rat who in turn, only looked away.

It _was_ after all, _Yuki's_ idea.

Tohru moved onto the next present. Her hands shook as she tried to grasp the package firmly. It was quite big and wrapped in a dark blue wrapping paper with a pretty light blue ribbon. On the tag, she read, "To: My lovely flower, Tohru-kun" and "From: The great novelist, Shigure Sohma". She had to giggle at that.

She slowly pulled the ribbon and carefully peeled off the wrapping paper. She gasped and pulled out the machine. The "machine" in fact was a laptop of the highest quality. The newest Apple laptops, a pure white color – even the keys were white – and even had plugged wireless internet installed.

Tohru looked up at the novelist. "S-Shigure-san!" she managed to stutter out as her eyes once again, welled up with tears. "I-I can't accept this! This is too much!" she protested.

Shigure only pouted. His bottom lip stuck out. "Aw… Does my little flower not like the present I gave her?" he asked tilting his head slightly.

Tohru's eyes widened and she shook her head frantically. "NO, NO, NO! I LOVE it, Shigure-san! It's just…" she trailed off into her own thoughts.

But those thoughts were interrupted by a slap on her back by one of her friends.

Arisa grinned. "C'mon Tohru! Keep it and thank the man! He **did** go out and buy it for you, ya know!" she persuaded. Saki came up behind her.

"I agree that Tohru-kun should take it. She does deserve it and after all…" she turned her lightless eyes to stare at the novelist, "he did go out and buy it for her… **Just especially _for_ her…**"

Shigure couldn't help by shudder.

Tohru looked around worried, and finally she gave in. "Y-Yes… Thank you so much for the laptop, Shigure-san!" she thanked him.

By now, she really felt that those two presents were enough already but Arisa and Saki just MADE her go on opening the others.

Tohru picked up an odd-shaped present and read the tag. She looked up smiling at Saki and said, "Thank you Hana-chan!"

Saki only smiled and said, "You haven't even opened it, Tohru-kun…"

"Ah! Okay!" she said and then went onto opening the odd-shaped package. She pulled the ribbon off once again and the wrapping came unraveling. She looked up at Saki gleefully. "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed.

It was, indeed, a singing and dancing sunflower. A normal one, surprisingly.

"C'mon Tohru!" Arisa commanded, "Open up mine next!"

Tohru nodded and picked up the package that was from her other friend. "Um… Okay…" she muttered to herself as she picked up a square and flat shaped package. She carefully once again, pulled the ribbon and peeled off the tape that held the wrapping paper together.

"Do ya like it? It's what you can eat when relaxing and stuff," Arisa explained with a grin.

Tohru wanted to cry again. She put the box of chocolates down and hugged her two best friends. "Thank you! Thank you!" she said over and over again. "Thank you!"

Yuki watched the trio of girls hug each other with envy. He really wanted to hug someone…but… He glanced at his brother and cousins and turned away. No way would he hug them!

But…really… He turned his gaze to the floor and stared at his feet for a while.

Present-time, as Arisa called it, went on for a pretty long time. Finally, Tohru reached the last present. She looked at the tag and smiled at Yuki who in turn, smiled back.

Slowly, once again, she pulled the soft pink ribbon apart and peeled the tape off the pink decorated wrapping paper. This time, though, she let out a surprised gasp.

She carefully, took out each fragile, glass figurines. Each figurine was in the shape of an animal. There in fact, were thirteen animals. Each for the members of the zodiac – this time, including the cat.

And this time, Tohru cried – she tried so hard to keep the tears back but she couldn't. Blinking back the tears, she truly wanted to hug Yuki. "T-Thank you so much Yuki-kun!" she thanked him with the deepest gratitude.

Even Kyo was surprised that the "damn rat" had included the cat in the zodiac. He looked away from where he was watching. He actually hoped that maybe… he wouldn't forget this… **ever**.

Hatori spoke up, changing the subject. "I think Honda-kun would like some dessert," he commented quite blandly.

Tohru nodded quickly, wiping her now-running nose and still flowing tears with her sleeve. She looked up and gratefully accepted a tissue from Saki.

"Thank you so much…"

-End of Part 2-

Chapter start date: October 25th 2005

Chapter finish date: June 11th 2006

Chapter post date: June 16th 2006 (Sorry, I didn't get around to updating...)

**Author's Note:** Well… Originally, I planned that this would be split into two parts. Well, actually, I think it's going to be **three** parts now. _Maybe_ an epilogue. And just so you know, I had a HUGE case of writer's block on this story. And another thing, this story is BEFORE volume 13. Okay?

Anyways, I thank the people for waiting so long. Fact 1: Did you know that reviews make authors happy? XD


	3. Part 3

Discovered Talent

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.

_April 30th – during the evening_

It was nearing midnight when everyone decided to rest in the beds provided with the boat. Tohru, of course, had already been knocked out long before midnight. Arisa and Saki had carried her into an empty room with three beds that the maids had set up while they were opening presents.

"Well… It certainly looks like Tohru-kun had a fun time…" the Gothic female murmured as she and Arisa pulled blankets over Tohru to cover her.

Arisa nodded in agreement. "Yeah, sure does…" she whispered, her words piercing the quiet atmosphere.

"Shall we get ready to sleep then?" Saki asked her friend, nudging her a bit on the elbow.

"Ah, sure," Arisa shrugged and answered. Saki only nodded before looking up.

"Actually, you go ahead Arisa… I'll be right back…" she whispered monotone, getting up from sitting on Tohru's bed and walking towards the door.

"Goodnight."

--

Sohma Yuki sighed and brought up a hand to run it through his hair. It was late and he couldn't sleep. His counterpart had already dozed off, but the three adults were nowhere to be seen. Though he swore he saw Shigure sneak off with some sake.

"Can you not sleep?" a voice awoken him from his thoughts. He jerked around to find Tohru's gothic friend.

"A-Ah…" he replied, licking his lips for it had gone dried for some time now and he had just remembered. His palms began to sweat, too… "A-Ah, Hanajima-san, what are you doing here?" he then asked.

Saki didn't answer, instead she walked over to his position (his arms were lying on the railing on the edge of the boat) and stood next to him. "I could not sleep either…" she said in her usual tone.

"Ah…" Yuki answered as he began wiping his palms on his pants. "Is something the matter?" he then asked.

Again, Saki didn't answer at first but in the quiet atmosphere, she spoke up, "Nothing…"

There was an awkward silence between the two of them before Yuki spoke up again. "Back then… When we met in the shop…" he started, catching the Goth's attention, "What did you mean by 'A rose'?" he asked uncertain.

"That is not the matter we should be discussing," Saki immediately answered without another moment's hesitation.

"A-Ah… Alright… Sorry," Yuki stammered, beginning to feel a bit weird.

"Do you know why I chose a sunflower when it could have been anything else?" Saki suddenly asked the male who had jumped at the first word. My, was he ever jumpy.

"No… I don't…" Yuki answered, waiting for her answer.

"She's bright, always smiling, but deep inside, there's a deep black hole where someone has to cover so she doesn't get sucked inside… Just like a sunflower, one the outside – the petals – they're bright, but in the inside – where it is black – it's just… black…" Saki explained, knowing fully well that the Sohma might not understand at first.

Yuki turned away from his gaze on her. His mind was racing, eyes glazing over deep in thought. He didn't even notice that the Goth had left. He didn't notice until there was a tap on his shoulder. He jolted out of his thoughts and turned around.

"Ah, Hatori!" he greeted, still shocked at the sudden tap. "W-What are you doing?" he asked.

"I should be the one asking you that…" the Sohma doctor replied with the same expression as always.

"Sorry, Hatori…" the younger Sohma apologized, bowing a little bit, "I guess you're here to tell me that I should be getting to sleep?" he guessed.

Hatori only nodded, confirming the younger Sohma's statement. "Then I'll go…" Yuki said as excused himself and left.

Hatori only watched his cousin as he wondered what the heck that Hanajima girl tell him.

--

"Ah… Haa-san shouldn't worry so much about his cousins or he'll grow old and wrinkly real fast!" a voice awoken from Hatori's pondering nearly shouted.

Hatori turned around to see the flushed face of his cousin – the one being very annoying, usually perverted and didn't act his own age – laughing and grinning like a buffoon.

"You had too much to drink," was Hatori's answer as he registered in the fact that Shigure had left with a couple bottles of sake and was now flushed.

Then that would mean…

"Ahhhh! TORI-SANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!"

Perfect, just perfect.

The long-haired Sohma suddenly appeared out of nowhere and in front of Hatori, holding out a half-filled bottle of sake and a small shot of it. "Tori-san! You simply **must** try this new brand! Gure-san was right! This is absolutely delicious and the flavor is to DIE FOR!"

Ayame rambled on and on, despite being a bit drunk and Hatori could only slap himself on the forehead as both his cousins blabbed nonsense.

And how old were they again?

--

It was dawning by the time Tohru had woken up. She had stretched and yawned and stretched some more before she realized that they were still on the boat. Then, she stood up with a jolt and rushed to the bathroom to wash her face and see if she was dreaming.

After rubbing her face thoroughly with a wet towel, she pinched herself and was almost glad it wasn't a dream.

It was then that Saki decided to wake. "Tohru-kun?" she asked in her sleepy-like tone. "Why are you up so early?"

Tohru smiled in reply. "I always wake up this early, Hana-chan!" she half-whispered.

"Ah, I should have remembered…" Saki murmured to herself thoughtfully as she fingered her chin. She then bowed to excuse herself and walked dreamily to the bathroom to wash up.

Soon the two of them walked out to where Saki and Yuki were previously that night.

"Tohru-kun…" Saki said her friend's name, catching her attention, "What do you think of your birthday this year?" she asked.

Tohru blinked once and then again, then smiled. "I love it! I think, this year is one of the best years ever…" she spoke, trailing off, remembering how her mom would celebrate it with her by a small cake and even Saki and Arisa were there…

She fought back tears as she remembered the years before. Truthfully, this would be the first year without her mother to celebrate her birthday. She supposed, it was pretty special.

"That Sohma Yuki-kun…is like a rose…" Saki suddenly veered off the subjects of birthday and straight into a boy. A boy…

"Eh? How so?" Tohru asked, eyes widening at her description.

"He's beautiful on the outside, luring people to come close, showing perfection on the outside yet never really letting anyone get to close or they'll get hurt by the thorns… Just like Sohma Yuki-kun…" she spoke almost inaudibly.

Tohru looked up surprised at her friend's words by another friend. Was Yuki-kun hiding something from them? She thought to herself as she began to wonder. Well, if he was, Tohru was sure that it was just that he was only trying to protect…

"Tohru-kun?"

Tohru looked up from her train of thoughts, "A-Ah! I'm here! What is it Hana-chan?" she asked, stammering a bit.

Saki's lips curved up into a smile. "We'll be leaving soon, so I suggest we get dressed."

"Ah! Right!" Tohru agreed and hurried off to change.

Saki watched her friend run off to change, smiling with one thought in her head.

Tohru was truly kind.

-End-

**Author's Note: **It's so short… Ah well, but I finally declare this fanfic finished! Though I might come back and revise it or add more to this… But as for now, it's finished. Thank you for the reviews for part 2! ((hands Yuki-rat, Kyo-cat, and Tohru-riceball cookies out for reviewers))

Special thanks to **Pocky-Pocky-chan** here for reviewing. 'Cause when I read her review, I couldn't help feel guilty about now updating, so I sat on my chair for a couple minutes and started to type out this chapter! So if you were waiting for this part, give **Pocky-Pocky-chan** a holler and tell her thanks! Thank you again **Pocky-Pocky-chan**!

Would you be kind as to leave a review or comment?

Chapter Start Date: August 15th, 2006

Chapter Finish Date: August 17th, 2006

Chapter Post Date: August 17th, 2006


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